Columbia, Mo. — The belief never wavered.
"It's coming," Aquinas head coach
James DeCosemo said over and over again from the sideline as the Saints came up short on multiple game-tying scoring opportunities.
Despite the clock winding down, the Saints never panicked and DeCosemo was eventually proven right.
The No. 2-seeded Aquinas Saints broke through with three goals in the final 25 minutes to overcome a 1-0 deficit and advance with a 3-1 postseason win over the No. 3-seeded Jamestown Jimmies in the First Round of the NAIA Tournament.
"With the quality of players we have and the goal scorers that we have — and, honestly, by the way we were playing — I did honestly believe that it was coming at some point," DeCosemo said. "You have to be a very, very, very, very good team to stop us from scoring goals. But, I believed all the way through and I made sure the girls heard that."
Aquinas (19-2-1), now riding a 16-game win streak, has only been shutout once this season in a 0-0 draw against Ave Maria on Sept. 7. Late heroics prevented AQ from being held scoreless again, as
Sydney Shenk scored twice and
Brittney Carter added the other on frigid Thursday afternoon (Nov. 17) at Battle High School in Columbia, Mo.
AQ controlled the possession early on, but it was Jamestown that had the first scoring chance against the run of play in the 9th minute. Gaby Sarkis powered a shot from just inside the box on the right side but Saints freshman goalkeeper
Kayla Shuk was well positioned to make the save.
The Jimmies (14-6-2) didn't waste their second opportunity in the 18th minute. After AQ failed to clear the ball out of its 18-yard box, Iliana Ramirez stepped in and fired a shot from point-blank range. Shuk and an AQ defender tried to step up and keep the shot out, but the ball deflected up and into the net to give Jamestown an early 1-0 lead.
The one-goal advantage held up to halftime despite AQ doubling up Jamestown in shots (8-4) and shots on target (4-2) in the first half.
"We talked at halftime about everything that we were doing was right," DeCosemo said. "We just needed to continue doing what we were doing. And we did. Always tough to go in down at halftime, but this group of girls are resilient, strong and good characters. And that's what got us through."
The Saints continued to push forward in the second half by pressing Jamestown's back line at every opportunity to try and force a mistake. The Jimmies seemed content to hang on for a 1-0 win and flip the outcome from the first game of the season between these two teams when Aquinas won 1-0.
However, AQ's breakthrough was coming. After a handful of close chances, Shenk came to the Saints' rescue.
Running the ball forward, Shenk played a one-two pass with
Maeva Lichtensteiger to slip behind the Jimmies' defense. Instead of drilling a first-time shot, Shenk composed herself and dribbled right around the Jamestown goalkeeper. A final lunge at the ball to poke it into a wide-open net and Shenk had tied the game at 1-1 with 24 minutes remaining in regulation.
"(Shenk) had just missed one earlier that she maybe snatched at and she would want that one back," DeCosemo said. "At this level, it's more in your head than anything. She knows she can score and, in that moment, she took her time and made some good choices on the ball."
Jamestown nearly pulled level with 10 minutes remaining when Kamryn Fiscus clipped the crossbar from distance.
Less than two minutes later, Shenk scored her NAIA-leading 10th game-winning goal. The Saints won the ball in the midfield and allowed
Ariana Garcia to attack Jamestown down the center of the pitch. When the Jimmies finally committed to slowing her down, Garcia delivered a through ball to Shenk.
On her left foot, Shenk rolled a shot across the goal and found the bottom right corner to put Aquinas ahead 2-1 in the 82nd minute.
"We knew once we got one, we would get a couple more," DeCosemo said.
Just over a minute after Shenk's second goal, Carter came flying in to bury the Saints' insurance goal in the 83th minute. Shenk put in a towering cross toward the back post and while everyone seemingly got stuck watching the ball float through the air, Carter came sprinting in out of nowhere to slide kick the ball in for her fourth goal of the season.
From down 1-0 to up 3-1 in the span of 18 minutes. Comeback complete.
Aquinas outshot Jamestown 19-6 (10-2 shots on target) in the contest to further validate that it was a well-deserved win. The AQ defense buckled down and only allowed one more shot on target after giving up the opening goal.
"They have been unbelievable all season," DeCosemo said of his defense. "We have leadership, quality and power. Everything you want in a back line. There was a rocky moment after the goal, like anybody would, but they bounced back really, really well. The back three and Kayla (Shuk) were unbeatable in the second half. They have been awesome all year and continued to do that for us today."
Aquinas advances to play the winner of No. 1-seeded Central Methodist vs. No. 4-seeded Cardinal Stritch, which is being played at 5:30 p.m. EST on Thursday (Nov. 17). Game time for the Second Round of the NAIA Tournament is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 19) at Battle High School in Columbia, Mo.
UPDATE: Central Methodist defeated Cardinal Stritch, 2-0, and will play Aquinas on Saturday in the next round.
